Documentary Filmmaking and Video Marketing

Have You Committed An Act Of Churnalism Today?

I love the philosophy of content marketing. It forces marketers to produce work that is actually going to add value to our lives in some way. But, the demands of a good content marketing plan require that we produce new and fresh content on a regular basis and therein lies the challenge: how to keep coming up with original content ideas and not fall into the trap of churnalism in a bid to get some content out quickly?

We’ve all done it, we’ve sat our desks staring at our screens running Google searches, flicking through our Twitter feeds, in a vain search for inspiration for our next content piece. The results of that approach are evidenced all over the web with blogs, slideshares, infographics and videos, all regurgitating the same content. So what can you do to avoid falling into that trap?

Answer: walk away from your desk

Our corporate culture can make it difficult to walk away from our desks – “the boss might think I’m skiving off if I take a walk or head back to the cafe yet again” – it is a deep-seated work ethic that is hard to disobey. Even when I’m working alone from home I feel guilty if I’m not at my desk during normal work hours. But staring at your screen kills creativity and tempts us into repeated acts of churnalism.

When you walk away and let your own thoughts percolate, when you take inspiration from the natural world around you, that’s when the truly original ideas take hold, and when your idea has settled in your mind that’s the moment you should rush back to your desk and start creating your masterpiece.

So next time you find yourself about to commit an act of churnalism send your boss this blog and walk away from your desk.